Sonam Wangchuk seeks President Droupadi Murmu's intervention in Ladakh, accuses LG V K Saxena of smear campaign

Srinagar: Prominent climate activist and educationist from Ladakh Sonam Wangchuk on Saturday urged the President of India Droupadi Murmu to urgently intervene and ensure freedom, justice and equal treatment for people of Ladakh as well as Arunachal Pradesh.

Wangchuk alleged that Ladakh has become a "police state" after August 2019, when it was carved out from Jammu and Kashmir as a seperate Union Territory. He accused the current Ladakh LG Vinai Kumar Saxena of being directly involved in a "targetted smear campaign" against him and other leaders of Ladakh.

"For the last six years Ladakh has become a police state. We neither have rights nor democracy like rest of the country. FIRs and arrests are made for some comments on social media," said Wangchuk while addressing Murmu and seeking her immediate intervention.


The climate activist said that the LG defamed him recently at a media conclave in Mumbai and shared a brief video of the conclave as well. In the video Saxena is saying that "Wangchuk couldnot convince him of any of his achievements and contributions for Ladakh." Saxena also mentioned his administration's innovative rock check, concrete free and cement free dams which Wangchuk termed as an "ecological disaster."

"We have found through this sting operation that lieutenant governor of Ladakh himself is directly involved in a targetted smear campaign against leaders like me and others," said Wangchuk claiming that at least two social media pages "Ladakh Lens" and "Ladakh VisionOne" are run by LG's team. Wangchuk also shared a recorded audio conversation purpotedly between his lawyer and one of the contacts of the creative agency that is running both these social media pages.

"For raising my voice for the youth of the nation and the well-being of border areas like Ladakh and Arunachal, I'm being continuously witch-hunted and defamed and our schools being harrassed in every possible way by the LG administration in Ladakh," said Wangchuk adding," this Sting Operation by our lawyers establishes that the LG administration is directly involved in illegal smear campaigns (and much more).

"I tried very much to avoid this, thinking it may damage the nation's dignity and morale and hence I first shared the material with the chief of IB for intervention, but unfortunately after few exchanges he too stopped responding," said Wangchuk adding, "So with a heavy heart I am sharing this with the nation as we must stop the LG from playing like an infant in the ecologically & strategically sensitive border regions of India."

The climate activist reiterated his request to the President saying that people of Ladakh are "grossly unhappy" and policies being implemented in Ladakh are "anti-people and pro-corporate."

"Whether it is land policy where farmers are striped of their lands, industrial policy, power policy or tourism policy, all favor corporatisation," said Wangchuk adding, "even liquor policy now needs six NoCs instead of 16 and administration is promoting liquor bars in every village. They claim to fight drugs by promoting liquor."

The climate activist alleged that LG is after institute like HIAL that has earned national and international repute.

" Our institute was recommended by the parliamentary committee on education to be replicated across the county. Our institute is featured permanently at Victoria and Albert Museum in London and yet our land lease has been cancelled for no reason. The administration has itself in their letters have asked us to continue because delay was due to the absence of lease policy which is their issue not ours. Our kindergarten schools is being asked to submit NoCs which are not even mentioned in the government SROs" said Wangchuk.